In a major leadership and strategic shakeup at the world’s top K-pop company, HYBE promoted Jason Jaesang Lee to be the company’s new chief executive officer on Wednesday (July 24), replacing Jiwon Park, according to a press release.
Lee previously served as president of HYBE America and chief strategy officer, a role which saw him lead HYBE’s 2021 acquisition of Scooter Braun‘s Ithaca Holdings and spearhead the Seoul-based company’s initial public offering in 2020.
In positioning him at the top of the company, HYBE said Lee “is the central figure for the forthcoming ‘HYBE 2.0’ strategy rollout,” a global expansion plan that has been in the works since the start of 2024.
“Jason is an entertainment industry veteran with vast experience in strategic planning and operations across both domestic and overseas businesses,” the company said in the statement. “Under his new leadership, we are looking forward to advancing as a global entertainment lifestyle platform company.”
More than the home of BTS, HYBE’s budding empire has expanded in the U.S. and Latin American music markets in recent years with the November acquisition of Exile Music, the music division of Spanish-language studio Exile Content, and HYBE America’s acquisition of hip-hop label Quality Control and, before that, the country powerhouse Big Machine Label Group.
HYBE’s revenue-generating engine showed signs of slowing earlier this year when the company reported in May that its first quarter revenue fell to the lowest point in two years, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell to the lowest point since the first quarter of 2021.
Park, who was named CEO in July 2021 when HYBE founder Bang Si-Hyuk transitioned to board chairman, “decided to step down … [and] will continue to contribute to the company’s growth strategy by leveraging his expertise in the intersection of entertainment and technology,” according to the statement.
During Park’s tenure as CEO, HYBE more than doubled its revenue and operating profit and became the first Korean entertainment company ever to generate more than 2 trillion Korean won ($1.4 billion) in revenue.
